Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

Among the group of applicants who went to the palace examination, Lu Ci's name was known to everyone, and everyone knew it.

Not only did he win two yuan before he reached the weak crown, but he was favored by the officials, and he did not hesitate to personally issue an imperial decree to thwart that joke-like gamble...

Although everyone had different thoughts when they sneaked a peek at Lu Ci, they all had the same feeling about him as an unprecedented enemy.

When Cai Qi and Pang Ji saw Lu Ci from a distance, they walked over and greeted him politely.

But without talking a few words, he found another excuse and walked away.

To be honest, no matter how likable Lu Ci is, after experiencing the shadow of last time, they don't want to be assigned a seat with Lu Ci anymore.

Zhu Shuo and Liu Qi frowned, looked at each other, then raised their heads tacitly, and stood on either side of Lu Ci with a stern face, like guards, blocking most of their sight at once.

Teng Zongliang: "..."

Having been occupied by the two of them, he could only silently move to Zhu Shuo's side to cheer.

He couldn't just squat in front of Lu Ci with no image, or go behind him.

Lu Ci, who is at the core, is at ease with this.

He didn't pay attention to other people's eyes at all, and he didn't seem to notice the faint smoke of gunpowder around him.

He only focused on the golden carp with shining tail scales, watching them foolishly swimming towards his direction, sticking their round mouths out of the water, scrambling to beg for food...

Can't help but bend the corners of the lips.

It's just that the faint smile didn't see through to his eyes.

How similar is such a state of eagerness and eagerness to those of them who are waiting outside the temple, anxious and secretly expecting?

Although Lu Ci has never forgotten from the beginning to the end, his original intention of joining the imperial examination was to be a peaceful corner, to become a parent and official of a party, and to ensure a peaceful life in an ordinary life.

But after witnessing this behind the scenes, Lu Ci couldn't help but feel a strange feeling deep in his heart.

——If there is a chance, he would rather be the one who sits behind the dragon gate and watches the "carps" who are greedy for fame and fortune go forward and jump wildly.

Before Lu Ci had a chance to think about it, the officials of the Imperial Medicine Academy had already started summoning him.

Zhu Juzi got up quickly, and Lu Ci would not lag behind.

He patted the shoulders of several friends who were facing an enemy, and walked together.

When the disciples who finally arrived were led in one by one, they saw that curtains and curtains were neatly set up on the corridor of Chongzheng Hall, separating each seat.

The four treasures of the study, tables and chairs are all available on the seat, and everyone's name is clearly marked.

As far as this exam venue is concerned, it is much more spacious and gorgeous than the two exams.

Lu Ci was very happy to save the trouble of bringing his own desk and chairs.

And Liu Qi's mood at this time is better than Lu Ci's.

For some reason, the seating arrangements that usually spread out the co-guarantees, this time they placed his seat next to Lu Ci.

It is a great fortune to be next to a close friend, let alone his favorite little Taotie.

This point alone made him more than half settled in a hanging heart, wanting to laugh out loud three times.

Especially Zhu Shuo's fiery eyes full of envy and unwillingness followed all the way, which made Liu Qi feel more and more proud, walking with a bit of chic and elegant, which was particularly eye-catching.

Lu Ci rubbed the center of his brows, and shifted his eyes indistinctly.

...I really want to pretend that I don't know this person.

When everyone was ushered into the seat, they almost held their breath and walked cautiously, for fear of bumping into something, or losing their proper manners, or committing some taboo.

The huge hall was completely silent.

They will be so cautious, obviously not only because the trial is the last and very important reason, but the main reason is also because of the officials.

Who doesn't know that the chief examiner of the palace examination is none other than His Majesty today?

Regardless of whether the officials have arrived in person or not, their words and deeds are absolutely indistinguishable.

Although Zhao Heng just showed his face in a hurry before, and quickly entered the water pavilion through the hall corridor, there are still a few people who found him.

But those who saw the official's appearance by accident all kept silent.

The thought that the official may be sitting in the water pavilion at the back of the palace at this moment, looking down at the scholars from a high position, is enough to make the hearts of those who know about it surging.

They can't wait to take the exam right away, and show off their talents with their own pens - it's better to attract the attention of the officials, not just Lu Ci.

In the vague anticipation of everyone, the test papers engraved and printed in advance by the Imperial Medicine Institute were also distributed one by one.

After everyone got the roll papers, the examiner Zhao Hui cleared his throat and announced the start without haste.

Almost at the moment when the hour glass was put down, all the testers turned over the first page of the test paper in unison, and looked at the proposition of the test without hesitation.

What catches the eye is "Tiande Qingming Poetry", "Qingming Xiangtian Talent" and "Shengde Dayelun".

How much do you love the word Qingming?

The corners of Lu Ci's mouth twitched slightly.

It's not that they are so difficult that he feels unable to write.

And the painting style of these three propositions looks very similar to the handwriting of the emperor himself.

Lu Ci sighed softly, and during the short period of studying the ink, he not only moved his slightly stiff fingers, but also successfully constructed the manuscript.

He picked up the pen and dipped the ink in a slow manner, and after he wrote the title squarely, he didn't hesitate for a moment.

From now until now, his test-taking experiences, big and small, are not for nothing.

Among all the candidates in the palace, Lu Ci's knowledge is not the best, but his mentality is definitely the most stable one.

He has accidentally obtained a guarantee of two yuan, supported by the preferential treatment of saving yuan for promotion, and with the advantage of age, as long as he does not make a big mistake, he will not be able to capsize in the gutter.

If you only fight for the top ranking, there is still great hope.

While others were still worried about gains and losses, Lu Ci had already adjusted his mentality so that he was completely unaffected by the huge pressure brought by the meaning of the palace examination, and immediately entered a state of concentration for the examination.

As for the proposition, he was right.

After all, he has already been exposed to countless similar topics in practice.

From writing to closing, he always has a clear mind, a smooth sense of writing, breath-holding concentration, and writes in a single stroke.

While most of the people around were still sorting out their inspirations, he had already put away his pen neatly.

When the bamboo pen holder was held on the fine porcelain pen holder, there was a crisp and pleasant knocking sound, followed by a "swish", he pulled away the ink-stained paper and placed it on the large specially vacated tabletop Put it on and wait for it to dry.

During the short time waiting to dry, he concentrated on reviewing, checking whether there were any criminals, etc.

He has completed this series of actions tens of thousands of times, as if he had rehearsed them freely, as gracefully as flowing clouds and flowing water.

If you appreciate it purely as an outsider, it can even be called pleasing to the eye.

However, for these tribute testers who are his competitors, it can't be called wonderful.

Whether it was the slight "ding" or the "swish", it was like knocking on the hearts of the other candidates, making their scalps tingle and they gasped softly.

The state of mind that was still smug also sank little by little.

"..."

That is……?

After belatedly realizing what was going on just now, Liu Qi suddenly looked bewildered.

He only stared at the proposition for a short while, and felt that it was not bad to be able to brew inspiration.

But he hasn't officially started writing yet, so why did Xiao Taotie finish writing without anyone noticing it?

At the moment when Liu Qi suspected that he was sleepwalking, and secretly struggled, Lu Ci had finished checking the poems, and began to write the drafts of the poems in a relaxed and happy manner.

Not only were the people sitting next to Lu Ci in a trance, but even the emperor Zhao Heng couldn't help saying to himself: "Is the question I asked this time too easy?"

He was sitting in the examiner's curtain located in the water pavilion behind Chongzheng Hall, looking down at the examiners from top to bottom.

Even though he knew that he had to be impartial and show fairness, Zhao Heng's eyes couldn't help but keep wandering towards Lu Ci.

Lu Ci's easy, calm and fearless response fell into Zhao Heng's eyes.

The voice he asked himself was so soft that the other examiners who were busy with the affairs at hand could not hear it, but was only heard clearly by the closest courtier.

The minister said with a smile: "Do you still remember that Yan Xueshi more than ten years ago was also so confident in the examination room?"

Zhao Heng was noncommittal, but couldn't help recalling the scene of that day.

It is indeed very similar.

"If his performance this time hadn't been aimless, in terms of aptitude, he might be higher than Yan Shu." Zhao Heng said half jokingly, half comfortingly: "After all, Yan Shu back then never had the glory of being ranked first."

At this time, the minister only quietly smiled, but did not dare to answer the question.

He knew very well how much the officials loved and relied on Yan Shu, who was not hidden, and he was often promoted without mentioning it. He was kept by his side all year round, and he often discussed major and minor matters with him.

Officials can tease Yan Shu at will, but he can't be so presumptuous and try to figure out the emperor's will.

Zhao Heng only sat on it for a while, watching the crowd of people burying their heads in writing, and soon felt bored and lost interest.

And because he was thinking about cultivating immortals, he got up decisively and left directly surrounded by the palace people.

Only three questions on poetry and prose theory were tested in the palace examination, and the duration of the examination was also greatly shortened.

It takes three full days to take the provincial exam, and when it comes to the palace exam, you have to submit the papers at noon of the same day.

Knowing that the palace examination papers would be transcribed and then reviewed, Lu Ci didn't put much effort into his handwriting. While pursuing speed, he kept it as neat as possible so that the transcriber would not admit his mistake, which was enough. .

In terms of poetry and prose, Lu Ci knew best that even if he was reborn and traveled a few times, he would never be able to compare with Liu Yong and Fan Zhongyan without plagiarizing the works of his predecessors.

But he would never be able to do the thief's act of taking the poems of the ancients he had read as his own and brazenly applying them, even if no one knew about them.

Besides, how beautiful and wonderful the poems and prose are are is second to none. When grading the papers, the most important thing for the examiners is whether they can answer the questions and conform to the official rhyme.

If we only look at the good and the bad of poetry, Liu Qi and the others may have passed the exam early and topped the high school list.

The opposite is true.

The poems have been handed down and are popular in later generations. Not many of the famous poets are proud of their official careers.

There are very few winners.

Even they can make mistakes, and Lu Ci doesn't think that he can go smoothly.

Without believing in his own strength and not knowing the examiner's preferences at all, it was absolutely impossible for him to bet his hopes on poetry and fu.

For these two, his goal is very clear-only to be innocent, not to be meritorious.

On the contrary, early on, he had settled on the theory that performed the most stably and that he felt best at.

Although the length is unavoidably uneven and even top-heavy, it should be safe to avoid weaknesses and give full play to strengths when trade-offs and performances must be made.

Fortunately, although at this time the tribute is selected for scholars, the most important thing is poetry and prose, and the theory is only accepted.But after becoming an official, poetry and fu only became communication with colleagues, or played the role of occasionally cultivating sentiment.

On the contrary, the two strategies have always been the most practical.

When it came to the day of the palace examination, he did not hesitate to spend most of the remaining time on it.

A little while before the arrival of noon, Lu Ci pinched his points precisely and successfully completed his 9000-word essay.

At the moment when he put down his pen, he finally had a sense of relief that 'everything is over', and let out a sigh of satisfaction.

Lu Ci has completely given up that if he fails the exam, he will take the exam a few more times before considering other arrangements.

——This extremely long and exhausting procedure of preparing for and taking the exam once is enough.

I really don’t know how those Enke, named by Coulter, who failed the exam with gray hair abruptly, got such perseverance.

In his opinion, if he can pass Dengke this time when he has the right time, place and people, he can no longer expect to perform better next time.

After Najuan came out of the hall, the first thing Lu Ci did was to drag a few friends with different moods to Fan Lou, asked for a private room, ordered a whole fish feast, and returned a Called three female singers in one breath, and played a beaming song "Lang Taosha", so as to relieve the pressure accumulated in recent years.

In the midst of joy and joy, Zhu said that the group of people were struggling to hold back their laughter while feasting, but Liu Qi only showed a relieved expression of "it really is so".

…When Xiao Taotie stared at the live fish in the pond before, he must have been thinking about these things.

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. The examination questions are borrowed from the palace examination questions in the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu.

2. "Najuan in the afternoon" comes from "Meng Liang Lu".However, what is recorded is the time of the palace examinations of Song Shenzong, Zhezong and Huizong. I did not find any records about Song Zhenzong.

3. "At the beginning, the curtain was set up in the hall corridor, the seats were arranged, and their names were marked" comes from the seventh one of "Song Huiyao Collection Draft·Election", which describes the arrangement of the Gongju Palace Examination in the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu